The Philharmonic Dining Rooms
Grade I listed 1898–1900 gin palace on Hope Street
The Philharmonic Dining Rooms is a Grade I listed Victorian pub at 36 Hope Street, on the corner of Hardman Street, Liverpool. Built in 1898–1900 to designs by Walter W. Thomas for brewer Robert Cain, Historic England describes it as one of the finest public houses in England and the pinnacle of the gin-palace form.
- Address
- 36 Hope Street, Liverpool, L1 9BX
- Cuisine
- Historic pub · British pub dining
- Established
- 1900
- Building
- The Philharmonic Dining Rooms
- Built
- Late Victorian (1898–1900)
- Nearest station
- Liverpool Central
Robert Cain's gin palace on Hope Street
The Philharmonic Dining Rooms was built between 1898 and 1900 for the brewer Robert Cain & Sons, to designs by the architect Walter W. Thomas. The ashlar exterior on the corner of Hope Street and Hardman Street is in a Free Style, with stepped gables, turrets and a two-storey oriel window over the junction, and Art Nouveau metal entrance gates.
The interior decoration was carried out by the sculptor Charles John Allen and the designer Henry Bloomfield Bare, with craftspeople from the School of Architecture and Applied Arts at University College (now the University of Liverpool). It includes Jacobean-style plasterwork, repoussé copper panels on musical themes, stained glass, mosaic floors, a horseshoe-shaped bar counter in the main drinking lobby and the Grande Lounge, which rises one and a half storeys. The gentlemen's lavatories retain their marble sanitary ware.
The building was first listed on 12 July 1966 and the entry was amended in 2020, when Historic England upgraded it to Grade I. CAMRA's National Inventory of Historic Pub Interiors rates it three stars, its highest category.
- Mon–Thu
- 11:00–23:00
- Fri–Sat
- 11:00–00:00
- Sun
- 11:00–22:30
Good to know
Who designed the Philharmonic Dining Rooms?
Walter W. Thomas, for the brewer Robert Cain & Sons; it was built between 1898 and 1900.
Is the Philharmonic pub listed?
Yes. It is Grade I listed (NHLE 1207638), first listed in 1966 and upgraded to Grade I in 2020.
Where is the Philharmonic Dining Rooms?
At 36 Hope Street, Liverpool L1 9BX, on the corner of Hardman Street.
What are the Philharmonic's toilets known for?
The gentlemen's lavatories retain their original marble sanitary ware, noted in the Historic England list entry.
